“I wonder what they are doing out there?” Melanie asked. “There’re so many of them.”

“No idea,” Kevin said.

“How can we get some of the bonobos to appear?” Candace asked.

“By this time they’re probably settling down for the night,” Kevin said. “I doubt if we can.”

“What about the float?” Melanie asked. “The mechanism that pulls it across must be like a clothesline. If it makes noise, they might hear it. It would be like a dinner bell and might bring them around.”

“Guess it’s worth a try,” Kevin said. He glanced up and down the water’s edge. “Trouble is, we don’t have any idea where the float may be.”

“I can’t imagine it would be far,” Melanie said. “You go east, I’ll go west.”

Kevin and Melanie walked in opposite directions. Candace stayed were she was, wishing she were back in her room in the hospital quarters.

“Here it is!” Melanie called out. She’d followed a path in the dense foliage for a short distance before coming to a pulley attached to a thick tree. A heavy rope hung around the pulley. One end disappeared into the water. The other end was tied to a four-foot square float nestled against the shore.

Kevin and Candace joined her. Kevin shined the flashlight across to the island. On the other side a similar pulley was attached to a similar tree.

Kevin handed the flashlight to Melanie and grasped the rope that drooped into the water. When he pulled, he could see the pulley on the other side swing out from the trunk of the tree.

Kevin pulled on the rope hand over hand. The pulleys complained bitterly with high-pitched squeaking noises. The float immediately moved away from the shore on its way to the other side.

“This might work,” Kevin said. While he pulled, Melanie swept the other shore with the flashlight beam. When the float was halfway across, there was a loud splash to their right as a large object dropped into the water from the island.

Melanie shined the light in the direction of the splash. Two glowing slits of light reflected back from the surface of the water. Peering at them was a large crocodile.

“Good lord!” Candace said as she stepped back from the water.

“It’s okay,” Kevin said. He let go of the rope, reached down and picked up a stout stick. He threw the stick at the croc. With another loud splash the crocodile disappeared beneath the water.

“Oh, great!” Candace said. “Now we have no idea where he is.”

“He’s gone,” Kevin said. “They’re not dangerous unless you’re in the water or they’re very hungry.”

“Who’s to say he’s not hungry?” Candace commented.

“There’s plenty for them to eat out here,” Kevin said as he picked up the rope and recommenced pulling. When the float reached the other side, he switched ropes and started pulling it back.

“Ah, it’s too late,” he said. “This isn’t going to work. The closest nesting area we saw on the computer graphic is over a mile away. We’ll have to try this in the daytime.”